The deal between Russia and China for importing some 38 billion cubic meters/year of natural gas through a pipeline connecting the two countries represents a key development not only for the two parties involved, but also for the role it will have in shaping the global price of LNG, according to Shigeru Muraki, vice chairman of the board at Japan's Tokyo Gas.

Some analysts and investors worry that oil companies will not spend enough either to sustain growth in their core businesses, or to open options in alternative energy sources for a world in which oil and gas consumption is constrained by climate policy or high prices.